It is known to provide a luminaire in linear form, e.g. an LED strip or LED string. A luminaire having such a structure comprises a linear supporting element (line) such as a strip or cable, and a plurality of lighting nodes arranged in a row along the length of the line, each node comprising at least one lamp (lighting element). The supporting line comprises a power line arranged to supply power to each of the lighting nodes. The supporting line may also comprise a data bus for signalling data from a control box to each of the nodes, with each node being individually addressable, thus enabling the control box to control each of the lighting nodes (e.g. to dim the emitted illumination up or down, and/or change the colour of the emitted illumination). For instance the control box may control the lighting nodes to emit light a synchronized coloured sequence.
In the case of an LED strip the supporting line takes the form of a strip of plastic, with the power line and data bus being embedded in the insulating plastic of the strip. LED strips are cheap to produce and versatile. Typically these LED strips are provided to consumers on a roll with a self-adhesive backing. The strips can also be cut to a desired length by a user. It is then up to the user how and where to mount the strips. Usually such strips are mounted out of direct view in coves, cupboards or under furniture to create a coloured ambient light effect. LED strips are available with individually controllable LEDs.
For instance U.S. Pat. No. 9,057,504 discloses a solderless connector for enabling a user to connect together lengths of flexible LED strips. The strips can also be connected by a similar connection to a control unit, which can control the LEDs to produce a certain pattern in response to RF commands from a user.
In the case of an LED string, or indeed a string of another type of lighting node such as filament bulbs, the supporting line may take the form of a cable or a pair of twisted cables, with the power line and data lines embedded in the exterior insulation of the cable(s). Such strings are used mainly for decorative lighting, e.g. for Christmas tree lights or for decorative outdoor lighting. Different LED string configurations are available, together with a range of decorative “lamp” shades that users can simply click onto the light string.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,299,719 relates to to an individually selective intelligent serial lighting system (in other words: an LED strip), wherein lighting elements are arranged in a specific configuration so that unknown location and identity of each randomly distributed registered integrated circuit switch device, which drives lighting elements, is automatically detected, recorded and addressed. The LED strip may comprise a rear end connector which is used to attach another LED strip to the LED strip.